Inking device for marking the surface of electrical conductors



y 1951 A. P. LUNT EI'AL 2,562,500

INKING DEVICE FOR MARKING THE SURFACE 'OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS' Fled!lay 27 1947 FIGJ 'INVENTORS Ami/v e LUIVT .THEODORE R. NORTON y om. p.AZDRSON AJRNEY Patented July 31,

INKING DEVICE FOR MARKING THE SUR- FACE OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS AldenP. Lunt, Theodore R. Norton, and Carl P. Anderson, Ansonia, Conn.,assignors to Noma Electric Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporationof New York Application May 27, 1947, Serial No. 750,'704

6 claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for marking the surface ofelectrical conductors and the like with ink or other colored markingliquid to distinguish between otherwise similar conductors, such forexample as may be required for purposes of circuit identification inmultiple conductor cables. 4

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple yethighly efficient inking device of this character by means of which astripe or other suitable marking of ink or other colored marking liquidcan be applied to the surface of a wire conductor without the use of anyapplicator materials heretofore employed for this purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel inking device ofthis character in which the ink or other marking liquid is applied tothe surface of a conductor by an annular inking section formed by a pairof opposed annular frustoconical lips constructed and arranged topresent the ink to the surface of the conductor in the form of anannular ring through which the conductor is fed.

A further object of our invention is the provision of arrinking deviceofnovel construction by means of which a stripe' may be applied to thesurface of a conductor either in a helical path about the periphery ofthe conductor or in 2 Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the inkingdevice taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the opposed frusto-conicallips of the inking device. In the drawing, referring more particularlyto Fig. 1, reference numeral o designates generally a preferred form ofinking device embodying our` invention for marking the surface of aninsulated wire ll as the latter is fed axially therethrough. In the formillustrated, the inking device o comprises a cup-shaped applicatormember 2 mounted on a suitable support l3.

The applicator cup l2 is provided in the bottom thereof with a concialbore l4 to permit oscillation of the wire ll as the latter is fedaxially therethrough as hereinafter described. The bore !4 extendsupwardly from the bottom of the cup !2 and terminates at its upper orreduced end in an annular lip !5 having an inside diameter substantiallygreater than the diameter of the wire H so asto provide a, circularwiping space |6 for'the latter as shown in Fig. 2.

surrounding the lip l5, the bottom of the cup !2 is annularly recessedto form a well l'l for ink or other suitable marking liquid suppliedthereto by a conduit s from a reservor l9 or other suitable source ofsupply. The conduit s is preferably provided with a valve 20 of any well;known Construction for regulating the rate of which the width of thestripe applied to the conductor can be controlled to very close limits.

Still another object of our invention is to provide an inking device ofthis character in which the viscosity of the ink or other marking liquidemployed can be varied without afiecting the operation of the device inmaintaining a uniform stripe.

With the above and other objects in view which will become more apparentas the description proceeds, our invention consists in features ofconstruction, combination of elements, arrangement of parts and mode ofoperation, hereinafter set forth in the following description,illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing in which like numerals have been used todesignate similar parts throughout the several views,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a wire-marking installation in whichour improved'inking device is employed to apply a helical stripe to thesurface of an insulated wire;

flow therethrough of the ink delivered to the well l'l.

An annular plug member 2l having a central bore 22 extends downwardlyinto the cup l2 from the upper end of the latter and terminates at itslower or inner end in a, reduced annular lip 23 coaxial with the lip [5.The lip 23 is oppositely disposed with respect to the lip !5 andcooperates therewith to form an annular inking section provided with anink-receiving channel 26 in communication with the well l'l. The opposedfaces 24 and 25 of the lips !5 and 23, respectively, are formed asfiatannular surfaces parallel to one another and normal to the axis of thecup ll so as to insure uniform flow through the channel 26 of the inkfrom the well H and present the same to the wire H as a flat annularring which protrudes slightly into the wiping space IE as clearly shownin Fig. 3.

In order to vary the axial width of the inkreceiving channel 26 tocompensate for changes in viscosity of the ink employed, the plug 2| isfinely threaded along its outer periphery as at 28 for cooperativeengagement with complemen- V tary threads 29 provided on the innerperiphery moved progressively closer toward the opposed lip I! of theinking section to reduce correspondingiy the axial width of theink-receiving channel 26. On the other hand, upon unscrewing the :plug2! relative to the cup, the lip 23 will be moved progressively away fromthe lip I! o! the inking section to increase correspondingly the axialwidth of the ink-receiving channel !I formed between the opposed faces24 and 25.

The wire ll is fed from a suitable source (not shown) and is oscinatedin a circular path in the wiping space 16 by any suitable means, thatshown in Fig. 1 comprising a circular disc ll arranged below the inkingdevice ll and mounted on the upper end of a vertical shaft 3l driven bya suitable variable speed driving shaft 32 through the medium of a belt33. The disc 30 is provided with an oriflce 'opening u extendingtransversely therethrough to receive and guide th wire il. which openingis suitably disposed eccentrically with respect to the axial center ofthe disc to impart the necessary oscillatory movement to the wire in itspassage through the wiping space li for engagement with the innerperiphery of the annular inking section formed by the pair of opposedlips and 23.

From the inking device ID, the marked wire ll is fed through a suitabledrier 35 mounted on a support 36 and is thereafter wound on a spool flrotatably supported in a frame 38 and driven by any suitable variablespeed driving shaft 39 through the medium of a belt 40.

Having described the construction of our improved inking device ninterposed between an oscillatory device 30--34 and a drier 35 in awiremarking installation, its operation is as follows:

With the opposed faces 24 and 25 of the lips |5 and 23 properly spacedfrom one another to allow the ink from the well i'l to flow through thechannel 26, the ink will present itself to the wire I l to be marked asa convex ring protruding slightly into the wiping space li. As the wireIl is pulled axially through the wiping space IS by the winding spool 31and oscillated against the inner periphery of the inking section formedby the opposed lips 15 and 23, the wire will pick up the ink as ahelical stripe 21, the pitch of which will depend upon the linear speedof travel of the wire through the wiping space !6 and the rate of speedof the oscillatory device 30-34. Consequently, by varying the linearspeed relative to the oscillatory speed, the pitch of the helical stripe21 can be varied correspondingly to meet any requirements.

While we have described our invention in connection with marking a,conductor with a helical stripe for which purpose an oscillatory devicehas been employed, it is to be understood that our invention is not tobe limited in this respect as the same may be used with equal effect inmarking a. conductor with a stripe parallel to its axis in which eventthe oscillatory device is locked against rotation.

It will thus be seen that we have provided a simple yet highly efficientinking devic composed of only two parts by means of which the marking ofinsulated electrical conductors or the like is greatly facilitated andsimplified in that not only can the viscosity of the ink be variedwithout affecting the operation of the device in maintaining a uniformstripe but the pitch of a helical stripe to be applied can also bevaried to meet different requirements. Moreover, the inking deviceoperates without the use of any special ap- 4 plicator materials such asrubber, felt, imprinting luks, tapes for ofl'sel printing, etc.

It will also be noted that with our improved inking device, the ink canbe applied to a hot surface such for exampl as an insulated wire comingdirectly from an extrusion machine die in a continuous process ofmanufacturing multicomiuctor cables. or the ink can be applied to a coldsurface such for example as an insulated wire fed from a spool in thestep by step process of making cables.

From the foregoing. it is believed that the construction, operation andadvantages of our invention will be readily understood by those skilledin the art without !ul-ther description, it being borne in mind thatnumerous changes may be made in the details disclosed without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What we claim is:

l. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cu'p-shaped memberhaving a bottom wall formed with an annular upwardly extendingfrusto-conical lip, an annular member extending downwardly into saidcup-shaped member and terminating at its lower end in an annulardownwardly extending frusto-conical lip coaxial with said first-namedlip and spaced axially therefron to form therewith an annular inkingsection having an outer well for marking liquid, a central bore forpassage axially therethrough of an insulated wire to be marked, and achannel for feeding marking liquid radially inwardly from said well tosaid bore. the diameter of said bore being substantially greater thanthe diameter of said wire whereby said wire may be moved orbitallyagainst the inner periphery of said inking section in its passageaxially therethrough, and means including a source of marking liquid influid communication with said well.

2. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cup-shaped memberhaving a bottom wall formed with an annular upwardly extendingfrusto-conical lip. an annular member extending downwardly into saidcup-shaped member and terminating at its lower end in an annulardownwardly extending frusto-conical lip coaxial with said first-namedlip and spaced axially therefrom to form therewith an annular inkingsection having an outer well for marking liquid, a central bore forpassage axially therethrough of an insulated wire to be marked, and achan- .nel for feeding marking liquid radially inwardly from said wellto said bore, the diameter of said bore being substantially greater thanthe diameter of said wire whereby said wire may be moved orbitallyagainst the inner periphery of said inking section in its passageaxially' therethrough, means including a source of marking liquid influid communication with said well, and means for drawing said insulatedwire axially through and in contact with the inner periphery of saidinking section.

3. Apparatus of the class described comprising a cup-shaped memberhaving a bottom wall formed with an annular upwardly extendingfrusto-conical lip, an annular member extending downwardly into saidcup-shaped member and terminating at its lower end in an annulardownwardly extending frusto-conical lip coaxial with said first-namedlip and spaced axially therefrom to form therewith an annular inkingsection having an outer well for marking liquid. a central bore forpassage axially therethrough of an insulated wire to be marked, and achannel 'for feeding marking' liquid radially inwardly combination of acup-shaped member having a bottom wall provided with an annular upwardlyextending frusto-conical lip, an annular downwardly extending plugmember in said cupshaped member provided at its inner end with anannular downwardly extending frusto-conical lip coaxial with saidfirst-named lip and cooperating therewith to provide an annular inkingsection having an outer well for marking liquid and a central bore forpassage axially therethrough of a wire to be marked, said lips beingaxially spaced from one another to provide a channel for marking liquidin fluid communicacation with said well and said bore, the diama eter ofsaid bore being substantially greater than the diameter of said wire toenable said wire in its passage axially through said bore and in con--tact with the inner periphery of said inking section to pick up themarking liquid in the form of a stripe, said first and second namedmembers being mutually threaded and in threaded engagement with oneanother whereby the axial width of said channel may be varied byrotation of one of said members relative to the other.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination of a cup-shapedmember having a bottom wall provided with an annular upwardly extendingfrusto-conical lip, an annular downwardly extending plug member in saidcupshaped member provided at its inner end with an annular downwardlyextending trusto-conical lip coaxial with said first-named lip and co-45 Operating therewith to provide an annular inking section having anouter well for marking therethrough of a wire to be marked, said lipsbeing axially spaced !rom one another to pro-- ameter of said bore beingsubstantially greater` than the diameter of said wire to enable saidwire in its passage axially through said bore and in contact with theinner periphery of said inking section to pick up the marking liquid inthe form of a stripe, said first and second named members being mutuallythreaded and in threaded engagement with one another whereby the axialwidth offsaid channel may be varied by rotation of one of said membersrelative to the other, and means for movin'g said wire orbitally againstthe inner periphery of said inking section.

6. In apparatus of the class described. the combination of meansincluding an annular upwardly extending frusto-conical lip, meansincluding an annular downwardly extending frusto-conical lip coaxialwith said first-named lip and cooperating therewith to provide anannular inking section having a central bore for passage axiallytherethrough of a wire to be marked, and means including an annular wellfor marking liquid surrounding said inking section, said lips beingaxially spaced from one another to provide an annular channel for thepassage of marking liquid radially inwardly from said well to said bore,the diameter of said bore being substantially greater than the diameterof said wire to enable said wire in its passage axially through saidbore and in contact with the inner periphery of said inking section topick up the marking liquid in the form of a stripe.

-ALDEN P LUNT. THEODORE R. NORTON. CARL P. ANDERSON.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTSA V Date Number Name i 2,126,810 Pugh Aug, 19382,272,177 Madden Feb. 104.942 2,360,097 Balthis Oct. 10 1944

